This Jet Set/Grind Radio breakbeat jam from GCJ (Caleb) captures the funky, sample-laden vibe of the game perfectly:

"I was very inspired by the style of music throughout Jet Set Radio & its sequel, Jet Set Radio Future. The instruments are half-sampled, half-synth in a similar style to the soundtrack of those games. There were also full drumset samples cut and chopped up inspired by some similar editing in "Fly Like a Butterfly."

A note on the vocal samples: I did use vocal samples that were also used in the songs; however, I did not sample the original songs themselves. I realize that if I sampled the songs my remix would be disqualified so I'm not sure how that applies to this situation, since this style of music is heavily sample-based, and the specific vocal samples used in these songs are what make them recognizable. In addition, the samples were from various sample packs unrelated to the game or company making the game, so I believe the use of those samples should be fine in this instance.

I took the advice from all of the comments of my previous submission. I've replaced the old VSTs with more realistic/better-sounding ones. I also improved the mixing so some samples aren't so loud compared to others. I've added parts throughout the song inspired by funk songs to make it less repetitive. The ReMix is generally inspired by the style of Hideki Naganuma, especially his work in Jet Set Radio and Sonic Rush."

I'm stoked that Caleb revised/improved this mix based on panel feedback, because the resulting resubmission is:

Better!

A new favorite, for me, since it so thoroughly communicates the game's unique energy & sounds like something Naganuma himself would dig.

As Larry put it:

"Nice work on this, Caleb. The soundscape was fuller and there was more variation with both the textures and the sound clip usage. Easy call now."

Jivemaster adds:

"Well done. While the main melody is quite repetitive, the creative use of samples and dropping layers in/out gives this a similar style and feel to the original soundtrack. This would likely be my main criticism as well, in that your mix takes a lot of cues/inspiration from the original soundtrack, and while not necessarily a bad thing on its own, it would have been nice to hear some further creative exploration of the piece. That criticism aside, mixing is good, arrangement progression is good and mix duration frames the content appropriately."

It definitely DOES land within the stylistic boundaries of the sources, but it's also cleaner, wider, and different enough in its lines, edges, & mojo to be interpretive. Plus, it's just really damn funky; somebody call the CDC, because this one's downright infectious. It's almost like a new, updated track for the sequel we might never see, and in that sense might offer some catharsis for longtime fans. Either way, GCJ has the skills to deliver the thrills for this particular genre, and grinds it up but good; enjoy!

Discussion

Ohhh, so dope! I've been playing a LOT of JSR/JGR lately, and
this is just what I needed. "Sneakman" is one of my personal
favorites form the soundtrack because of how energetic and
juicy it is, and Caleb did it a wonderful job arranging this
song. He managed to maintain the crazy vibes of the
original, while bringing a new dose of freshness and funk to
the table. The instrumentation is also very reminiscent of the
original - same insane chunks of slap bass, wah-wah,
breakneck percussion, and yet there were some
new details like the brilliant synth and organ solos! The
abused vocal sampling may throw some people off, but I
really like it - that is actually one of the features
of the original composition that made it so attractive for
me! The incorporation of bits of "Fly Like a Butterfly" was
also very cool here - they shuffled the things a bit,
while keeping everything quite cohesive, which is obviously
always nice! Very good job, thanks for making this. Gonna
put this one on repeat for sure

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